Forming-machine for plain upholstered seats.



W. DRITLEY.

FORMING MACHINE FOR PLAIN UPHOLSTERED SEATS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.2I. 1915.

1,224,909.. Patented May 8, 1917.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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W. DRITLEY.

FORMING MACHINE FOR PLAIN UPHOLSTERED SEATS.

APPLICATION FILED AIIG.2I.19I5.

1,22%,9U9I, Patented May 8, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WILLIAM DRITLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FORMING-MACHINE FOR PLAIN UPI-IOLSTERED SEATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 1917.

Application filed August 27, 1915. Serial No. 47,597.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM Denney, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Forming-Machines for Plain Upholstered Seats, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact, description.

My invention relates to a machine for forming the seats of davenports, sofas, chairs, and so forth, and particularly for expediting the work of upliolstering said seats.

Heretofore it has been customary for upholsterers to place the cotton and tow or other suitable fabric with which the seat was to be upholstered over the canvas covered boxed springs and then to tack the leather, rep or other fabric with which it was desired to cover the seat at one end to the box frame and then to kneel upon the seat, next the end where the cover was tacked, and to crawl over the seat and use his knees to pack the stufiing while he tacked the sides of the cover to the longitudinal members of the box frame. This was a very slow and expensive method, and besides requiring considerable adeptness, was ruinous on the trousers of the workman. V

The object of my invention is to accomplish the upholstering of seats of the kind specified, by common labor in a better manner, at less expense, and in a fraction of the time it took to do the work by the old method. This I accomplishby means, which are very simple, very inexpensive and, very easily manipulated, substantially as hereinafter described, and as particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my i11- vention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section therethrough.

Figs. 8 and 4 are transverse vertical sections taken on dotted line 3-3, Fig. 2, the former showing the position of the seat preparatory to upholstering the same, and the latter showing said seat upholstered and the retaining'devices opened to permit the re moval of the seat.

Fig, 5 is a perspective view of a presserboard employed in the machine, and

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing a horizontal section through a broken away corner of the knock-down retaining frame.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a table or bench supported by four legs (one at each corner) and having a rectangular raised platform B of such length as to leave (short spaces between the ends of the table and its ends which are covered over by topboards a, a, which are convenient for the workman to place-his tools and hardware on. This rectangular platform corresponds to the width of table A, and its longitudinal side-walls may be made in one piece with the side-rails of the bench, or may be made of separate strips, and the top of this raised platform is made of wood or other suitable material, and which is, preferably, covered by leather or other suitable fabric, and con stitutes the bed C upon which the work rests. This bed has a rectangular border frame D made of ogee molding the outer edge of which is perpendicular and much higher than the inner edge, and is concaved between its outer and inner edges to form the rounded edges of the upholstered seat, as will hereinafter more fully appear. The rectangular dimensions of this rectangular ogee frame is less than the rectangular dimensions of bed C and leaves a marginal portion outside of said frame of about one inch all around.

This bed C is provided with a knock-clown retaining frame, which is mounted upon the edges of the raised platform B and consist of end and longitudinal members cl, (Z, and e, 6, respectively, which are all of the same height, and are adapted to rest edgewise on the margins of platform C outside the rectangular ogee frame so as toinclose the space over the bed. These members are of such thickness that they overhang the ends and side-walls of platform B, preferably, about an inch, and they are respectively hinged to the sidewalls of said platform B by means of hinges each of which consists of a vertically disposed flat leaf m so secured to the outer surfaces of said end and side members d and e that they extend down below the lower edges of said members and have their lower ends terminate in knuckles that are pivotally mounted upon the outer laterally bent ends of staples a that are screwed into the vertical walls of the raised frame. The end edges of the end and side members of the retaining frames are rabbeted so as to make an interlapping joint, substantially as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, and each longitudinal member is pro vided with end-plates f, f, the ends of which extend beyond the end edges of said members and are bent laterally past the end edges of the end members. When these end members cl and side members 6 of the retaining-frame are swung upward to form a rectangular inclosure around the bed they are retained in such position by means of spring snap-hooks 9 consisting of flat strips of metal that are suitably secured to the upper edges of the-end members and have their own ends extend beyond the end edges of said end members and formed into downwardly facing hooks that are adapted to snap over the upper edges of the side-members e, e, and retain them in their vertical position; the end-members, as hereinbefore explained, being held in vertical position by the inwardly flanged edges of end-plates f.

'The ends of table A midway between the sides are provided with vertical posts H, and the upper ends of these posts are connected by a horizontal beam consisting of a couple of two-by-fours (2214s), which arch over the top of the bench from end to end thereof in a vertical plane midway between its sides at suitable points. Near each end filling-blocks are inserted between the two-by-fours (2Xts) constituting said beam, and each of these blocks is tapped vertically to receive vertical wooden screws I, I, the lower headed ends of which are pierced transaxially by a cross-bar or handle J to facilitate the turning of the same. The lower ends of screws I are, preferably, provided with concentric pins that are considerably less in diameter and project down therefrom an inch or so. \Vhen these screws are turned so as to move downward, pins 7ron their lower ends are adapted to engage recesses in the ends of a pressure-board K the length of which latter slightly exceeds the length of the retaining-frame, and the width of which may be the same width as said retaining-frame, or, as I prefer to have it, less than the same.

In operating my improved machine, the end and side members (Z and e of the retain ing-frame are unlocked and swung down below the bed constituting the top of the raised platform, and then the cover for the seat, which is of a length and width exceeding that of said bed, is placed over said bed so that the side edges thereof and the end edges thereof will drop down over the edges of the platform a suitable distance all around. Side membere cl and end members 6 are then moved upward into their Vertical positions until their end edges engage and their lower edges are seated on the margins of the bed outside of the ogee molding, and until they clamp the end and side edges of the fabric of the cover.

Cotton batting of suflicient thickness is then placed on the cover inside of the retaining-frame and then a suflicient quantity of tow is placed upon the cotton batting so as to fill the space inclosed within the retaining-frame. The boxed-springs are then inverted and placed on top of the tow, it being understood that the rectangular dimensions of these boxed-springs are such as to enable the same to be pressed down into the space inclosed within the retainingframe. The pressure-board is then placed longitudinally upon the inverted lower edges of the frame of the boxed-springs in such position that when screws I are suitably manipulated pins 70 on the lower ends of the same will enter the recesses in said board made to receive the same. The screws are then moved so as to press the boxed-springs down into the space inclosed by the retaining frame as far as it will go, and then the side-members (Z and end-members e of the retaining-frame are unlocked and swung downward out of the way and the end and side edges of the covering fabric are lapped up against the sides and ends of the frame of the boxed-springs and securely tacked thereto. When this tacking has been accomplished, screws I are reversed and raised a sufficient distance to permit pressure-board K to be removed and the upholstered boxedsprings taken out of the machine for sufficient finishing work as may be necessary.

I do not desire to be confined to the exact wooden structure of my improved machine as hereinbefore described, because it is obvious that metal parts could be substituted for wooden parts, and necessitate changes in the design thereof without departing from the principles involved in the construction of my improvements.

What I claim as new is;

1. In a machine of the kind specified, a suitable bench, a raised platform mounted thereon the top of which constitutes a bed against which the work is placed, a retaining-frame consisting of movable longitudinal and end members that inclose said bed, the edges of said members nearest the bed being spaced apart from the same, and means for holding said members together, in combination with means adapted to press the seat to be upholstered into the space inclosed by the members of the retainingframe.

2. In a machine of the class specified, a platform the top of which constitutes a bed against which the work is placed, a retaining framefor inclosing the work, said frame being spaced apart from said bed and means constructed to press said work into said frame.

3. In a machine of the kind specified, a suitable bench, a platform mounted thereon which constitutes a bed against which the work is placed, a retaining-frame consisting 0 of movable longitudinal and end members that inclose said bed, said members forming a holding means for the material that is to be attached to the work which is placed upon said bed and automatic means provided upon the movable members for locking said members together, in combination with means whereby the seat to be upholstered may be pressed into the space inclosed by the members of the retainingframe.

4. In a machine of the class specified, a platform arranged to form a bed against which the work is placed, a retaining-frame consisting of movable longitudinal and end members that inclose said bed, means arranged inside of said members across which the material to be attached to the work may be stretched, means for holding said material in said stretched condition, said means including said movable side and end members and the means across which the material is stretched, and automatic means provided upon the movable members for locking said members together, in combination with means whereby the seat to be upholstered may be pressed into the space inclosed by the members of the retainingframe. I

5. In a machine of the kindspecified, a fiat table upon which the work may be placed having a molding frame secured thereon parallel with its edges, a retainingframe consisting of movable longitudinal and end members that are adapted to rest edgewise on the margins of said bed outside said molding, and means for holding said members together, said table, moldingframe and retaining-frame composing a means whereby the material to be attached to the work may be held in combination with means adapted to press the seat to be upholstered into the space inclosed by the members of the retaining-frame.

6. In a machine of the kind specified, a suitable bench, a bed mounted thereon between its ends having a molding-frame secured thereon parallel with its edges, a retaining-frame consisting of longitudinal and end members that are adapted to rest edgewise on the margins of said bed outside said molding and overhang the edges of said bed, hinges connecting said members to the sides of the bed a suitable distance below the horizontal plane of the bed, and means for holding said members together, in combination with means whereby the seat to be upholstered may be pressed into the space inclosed by the members of the retainingframe.

7. In a machine of the class specified, a bed against which the work may be placed, a retaining-frame for inclosing the work, a second frame mounted within the retaining frame, across which the material to be attached to the work may be stretched, means constructed to press the work inside of said retaining frame, and means whereby said material may be held between the bed and the second frame.

8. In a machine of the class specified, a platform the top of which constitutes a bed against which the work is placed, a retaining-frarne for inc'losing the work, a second frame, said frames forming a means between which a fabric may be inserted and held, and means constructed to press said work into said frames.

W. J. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

